As the school year draws to a close, students and teachers look forward to summer vacation. But before wrapping up the school year there are those end-of-the-school-year tests, to determine how much information the students retained during the year. I remember those dreaded tests very well.
This end-of-year testing has been going on for quite some time. A while back I wrote about the Boxwell Test, tests from the early 1900s that covered a variety of subjects, given to eighth graders before entering high school. The questions were used to examine eighth grade pupils from rural and village schools to make sure they were ready to enter high school.
Apparently the test was also called the Boxwell-Patterson or the Patterson Test. Celina and Van Wert newspapers called it the Patterson Test in 1911. Perhaps the test name had changed by that time or was in the process of changing.
Here are some newspaper articles from Celina and Van Wert newspapers concerning the 1911 Patterson Test in those areas. Perhaps one of your relatives was one of the students who passed the test.
Patterson Commencements at Liberty, Blackcreek and Hopewell Townships, Mercer County:
Liberty Twp, Patterson Commencement, The Celina Democrat, 9 Jun 1911
Blackcreek Township Patterson Commencement, The Celina Democrat, 16 Jun 1911
Hopewell Township Patterson Commencement, The Celina Democrat, 9 Jun 1911
Mercer County’s Successful Patterson Exam applicants:
Successful applicants, Mercer County Patterson Exam, The Celina Democrat, 2 Jun 1911
Successful applicants, Mercer County Patterson Exam, The Celina Democrat, 2 Jun 1911
Van Wert County’s Successful Patterson Exam applicants:
Van Wert County Patterson Exam, successful applicants, Van Wert Daily Bulletin, 26 May 1911
Van Wert County Patterson Exam, successful applicants, Van Wert Daily Bulletin, 26 May 1911
Van Wert County Patterson Exam, successful applicants, Van Wert Daily Bulletin, 26 May 1911
Van Wert County Patterson Exam, successful applicants, Van Wert Daily Bulletin, 26 May 1911
Here is a sampling of the Patterson Exam questions. How would you do?
Geography questions, 1911:
Patterson Exam questions, Geography, Celina Democrat, 26 May 1911
Patterson Exam questions, Geography, Celina Democrat, 26 May 1911
Grammar questions, 1911:
Patterson Exam questions, Grammar, Celina Democrat, 26 May 1911
Patterson Exam questions, Grammar, Celina Democrat, 26 May 1911
Physiology questions, 1911:
Patterson Exam questions, Physiology, Celina Democrat, 26 May 1911
History questions, 1911:
Patterson Exam questions, History, Celina Democrat, 26 May 1911
